Inquiry: British police bugged Muslim MP

Britain has launched an official inquiry into allegations that police officers eavesdropped on meetings between a Muslim member of Parliament and a detained suspect sought by US prosecutors on terror-related charges. A former police officer has admitted bugging Sadiq Khan, a member of the ruling center-left Labour Party, during a prison visit with Babar Ahmad, a terrorist suspect, on orders from London's Metropolitan Police. The officer's admission has raised questions about the government's oversight role.

In the 1960s, Britain banned police from secretly monitoring MPs, but subsequent amendments have widened the scope of permitted surveillance – especially of ordinary citizens.

Mr. Ahmad, a Briton, faces US extradition charges over his alleged recruiting activities for Al Qaeda and other foreign militant groups, but isn't accused of breaking any British laws. Mr. Khan is a human rights lawyer and a prominent advocate for civil liberties.

The Associated Press reports that while lawmakers should have exemption from bugging, police occasionally monitor ordinary Britons' phone calls, e-mails, and mail. The British government says such practices have thwarted terrorist attacks, even though evidence obtained from wiretaps is inadmissible in court.

Khan grew up in London and studied law before becoming one of only a handful of British Muslim MPs, reports TheDaily Telegraph in a profile. In 2005, after the July 7 bombings in London, he warned of concerns in the Muslim community over proposed antiterrorism laws. In 2006, he signed an open letter from three Muslim MPs to former Prime Minister Tony Blair that suggested British foreign policy was putting civilians at risk.